Experts warn teens face manipulation and harmful online roles

Children and teenagers in Upper Austria face growing risks online, including cyberbullying, hate speech and targeted manipulation, experts warned, according to ORF. Police, schools and social services are calling for closer cooperation.

Kerstin Matschiner of the Upper Austrian state police’s crime prevention unit said young people often seek recognition and attention online, while increasingly seeing digital and real life as one. Stable relationships and trusted people in their everyday lives are therefore important, she said.

Experts are particularly concerned about the international online phenomenon known as “The Com”. Young people are approached through messaging services or gaming platforms and manipulated; some are reportedly pressured into self-harm, violence or crimes. The “Manosphere” and “Tradwife” movements may also promote harmful gender roles and hostility towards others, said Barbara Zinhobler of the Upper Austrian Children and Youth Ombudsman’s Office. She warned that online dangers were developing faster than laws could keep up.

Since April 2026, the ombudsman’s office has been certified as an independent “Trusted Flagger”, allowing it to report harmful content directly to online platforms for faster removal. It has received several hundred reports, and about 70 items were assessed as illegal and forwarded to platforms. Cases with potential criminal relevance are also reported to Interpol’s reporting office and other relevant bodies, including Stopline.

Examples cited by the office include sexualised photos being sold on Telegram without adequate age checks, antisemitic material posted by an AI-generated influencer on Instagram, and people being exposed on TikTok through fabricated claims. It also reported cases involving child sexual abuse images in Telegram and Discord groups.

Matschiner said children and teenagers who feel seen, heard and taken seriously are less vulnerable to extreme influences. The Upper Austrian Violence Prevention Platform has connected organisations in youth services, schools and social services with police for 15 years, aiming to share information and direct people to suitable support.

The ombudsman’s office also announced a new workshop called “All fake?” for children aged six and older. It will teach participants to recognise false information, AI-generated content and covert advertising, and cover digital marketing, algorithms and artificial intelligence. The office said media literacy, cooperation between institutions and greater responsibility from platforms are needed to counter digital violence.